New York Knicks Beware: Focus on Team, Not Individuals in Offseason
Fun fact for Knicks Management and Fans—the Miami Heat haven't won anything yet.
The "Big 3" model that teams are hell bent on achieving—and that the league will try to prevent in the new CBA—has no basis for winning in recent history. The teams that have won since the early 80's had a max of two "superstars" along with a very good supporting cast that suited the superstars' games.
Heck, the Detroit Pistons won a title and were dominant in the Eastern Conference early last decade with no superstars.
Of course you also need to define the term "superstar." I don't think you can say that Miami has three "superstars." That word to me means sure-fire Hall of Famer, which clearly wouldn't apply to Chris Bosh, even though he's treated and paid that way. He is a very good player; but is he in the Top 3 in his position?
Top 5?
I suppose it could be argued, but I have Duncan, Gasol, Stoudemire, and Nowitzki way ahead of him, with Boozer at about the same level. In that case, the Heat have two "superstars," one "Top-5ish" player, and a bunch of filler.
Now, maybe the Heat will pull it off. Maybe they have enough. Personally, I'd much rather stick to past champions and have a balanced team.
The recent Lakers won two out of three championships having the best player in the game in Kobe Bryant, along with an excellent player in Pau Gasol. Beyond them you had very good two-way players in Lamar Odom, Ron Artest/Trevor Ariza, Derek Fisher, and Andrew Bynum.
The best aspect a superstar can have is not what they put on the scoresheet, but how they lift up the players around them. If Gasol or Kobe were double-teamed there was always a very good player open for an easy basket in the paint or a wide open three pointer.
Likewise for the recent Celtics teams.
Kevin Garnett was a legitimate superstar when the Celtics acquired him, albeit an older one, and Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are great players. They have a very good young point guard in Rajon Rondo and quality role players whose games were elevated in Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis, James Posey, Tony Allen, and Marquis Daniels.
The Spurs have been a dominant force for over a decade having one legit superstar in Tim Duncan a couple Top-5 guys in Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, as well as a variety of random solid role players.
You also have to consider the Shaq-Kobe Lakers and Wade-Shaq Heat. Lest we not forget the obvious six-time champion Bulls with Jordan (god among superstars), Pippen (superstar), and appropriate supporting cast (Grant, Armstrong, Paxson or Rodman, Longley, Kerr).
The moral of this rant is that, going into this uncertain offseason, you have to assume that salary is going to play a much bigger part of the game. Whether the cap is lowered or made a hard cap, teams are going to have to make better decisions, which may not be to solely focus on three main players with no regard for the remainder of the roster.
One thing that definitely won't change is that players are going to want top dollar for their talents. Look no further than Carmelo Anthony. If he wanted to win sooner he could have told the Knicks to not trade for him (or give a lot less) and then sign there as a free agent. Instead he must have threatened to go to New Jersey to force the trade so that he could lock in his 3yr/$65 million extension.
Now I'm not blaming Anthony, just simply pointing out that as much as players want to play with their friends, or say they "just want to win," the money is still going to come first. Anthony stood to lose a lot of money had he become a free agent. As much as he wanted the Knicks, he was only going if he got the money too.
Along those lines, there's no reason to assume that a player like Chris Paul or Deron Williams will want to go to the Knicks after next season. Under a lower or hard cap, why would Paul or Williams take, say $10 million, while Stoudemire and Anthony make $20 million. The Big 3 may have made a pact to play together but none took pay cuts to do it.
For the above reasons, the Knicks should focus on surrounding Stoudemire and Anthony with good defensive players with some scoring ability and an experienced bench. They don't need Dwight Howard; a Kendrick Perkins or Dejuan Blair would fit fine. They don't need Chris Paul; a Raymond Felton or Andre Miller would be fine.
These type of moves would give them a well-rounded team with cap room for some veterans on the bench. The current team plays no defense, even by Mike D'Antoni standards. Look no further than their 115-109 loss to the Cavaliers.
They need to add defensive-minded players who will benefit offensively from double teams and mismatches. Adding another superstar to their current team will just enable them to score more points while giving up even more.
